Brian Pala Lima OM (born 25 January 1972) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who was inducted into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and othe ...

in 2011. He earned the nickname of "The Chiropractor" for his shuddering hits both on and off the pitch that supposedly rearranged the bones of the victim.

National team

Lima was born in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

, Samoa. He debuted for the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perf ...

in 1990. He featured in Samoa's famous

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

win over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1991, and he was the youngest player at the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup () was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Six Nations Championship, Five Na ...

. One of Lima's most illuminating moments came in Samoa's match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in a group match at the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

. As Springbok fly-half Derick Hougaard leapt up in the air to catch a hospital pass, Lima "dive-tackled" him, sending Hougaard crashing to the ground. Lima was the first player to appear in five World Cups, his fifth being the 2007 World Cup in France, in which he came on against South Africa in Samoa's first game after 60 minutes. Lima announced that he would retire after the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. Michael Jones, the Samoa coach (at that time), announced Lima as the captain for the first game of that year's Pacific Nations Cup. Brian Lima was selected to lead Samoa against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. This game was one of Lima's last games on Samoan soil. Lima also played for the Samoa national rugby sevens team. He scored 17 tries in various Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments, ranking him third all-time in career World Cup Sevens tries.

Professional

Lima signed for

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

after an impressive game for the southern hemisphere vs the northern hemisphere in a fundraising game for the 2004 tsunami. However Lima was injured shortly after landing in Ireland and never got to pull on the Munster jersey. He has also played for the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, Auckland, the Highlanders, and Secom in Japan. He signed a two-year deal with

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

starting in the 2005–06 season. In December 2013 Lima was charged with causing actual bodily harm and being armed with a dangerous weapon after publicly assaulting and injuring his ex-wife. He subsequently resigned as coach of the Samoan national team. In June 2014 he was convicted on five charges and sentenced to two years supervision. In August 2020 he was appointed head coach of the Samoa national rugby sevens team.

Honours and awards

Lima was appointed to the Order of Merit of Samoa in the 2014 Samoa Honours and Awards. In 2024, he was an inaugural inductee into the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lima, Brian 1972 births Living people World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Samoan rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union centres Stade Français Paris players Bristol Bears players Blues (Super Rugby) players Rugby union players from Apia Samoa international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Samoan expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Samoan expatriate rugby union players in France Samoan expatriate rugby union players in Wales Samoan expatriate rugby union players in Japan Samoan expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Samoan expatriate rugby union players in England Samoa international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players Members of the Order of Merit of Samoa Ponsonby RFC players Highlanders (rugby union) players Auckland rugby union players 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics Secom Rugguts players